Policing the masculine frontier: Cultural criminological analysis of the gendered performance of policing

Abstract

This qualitative content analysis project relies on a combined cultural criminological and hegemonic masculinities perspective to uncover constructions of justice workers and the gendered performance of policing. This study provides a typology of hegemonic and "complicit" or subordinate policing and masculinity models in six of the highest-grossing American police movies as well as the representations of the ideal and unqualified officer in the online recruitment materials of departments serving the 25 largest American cities. While "cop films" are an established subgenre within Hollywood, official police websites represent an emergent medium for the dissemination of a cultural self-portrait. By studying these various reflections of the occupation, this project engages with the characteristics, traits, and attributes associated with the police across Hollywood movies and police recruitment webpages, finding stark tensions between the commercially mediated ideal and that of the public transcript of the police. This study theoretically and methodologically develops cultural criminology by addressing the self-portrait of the police alongside models of masculinity and policing provided by consumer-tailored media within the modern "hall of mirrors."

Policing and Race: Disparate Treatment, Perceptions, and Policy Responses

“…How might masculinity threat influence police officers’ behavior with racial minorities? Police departments are stereotypically hyper‐masculine organizations and a male‐dominated profession (Aiello, ; Miller & Bonistall, ). Officers interacting with noncompliant suspects may experience a direct or indirect threat to their masculinity, and compensate by using increased levels of force.…”

Mass Shooting Films: Myths, Academic Knowledge, and Popular Criminology

“…A qualitative content analysis of films (see for example: Aiello, 2014, Altheide & Schneider, 2013Corbin & Strauss, 2007;Welsh et al, 2011) was employed to identify the perpetrator, victim, and social factor constructions. In line with Graneheim and Lundman's (2004) outline of a qualitative content analysis, this research explores the manifest content of dialogue, as well as the latent content of relationships between characters and underlying narrative structures.…”

“…Each film was then re-watched with the aforementioned codes in mind. Relevant dialog was transcribed and previously missed codes were noted (Aiello, 2014). The validity of each specific code was dependent on it being in many of the analyzed films (Corbin & Strauss, 2007).…”

Who Dreams of Badges? Gendered Self-Concept and Policing Career Aspirations

“…Despite popularity of the masculine crime fighter image in policing, a significant proportion of police work is spent in order maintenance and service activities, especially in departments focused on community policing (Parks et al, 1999;Rhodes, 2015;Smith et al, 2001). Yet, recruitment materials and presentations often highlight the physical, masculine, thrill-inducing aspects of the job (Aiello, 2014;Jolicoeur & Grant, 2018), all of which may be attractive, but not necessarily representative of daily life on the job. Further, departments are inconsistent in their use of targeted recruitment strategies (Cordner & Cordner, 2011).…”